Nine-year-old Haylee loves swimming, riding her bike and adores being outdoors.
So, when the Queensland schoolgirl had a few bruises pop up on her shins, her mum Danielle thought it was the result of her daughter’s adventurous spirit.
But as the bruises began to appear sporadically and became lumpy to touch, the mum took Haylee to the GP for a checkup.
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A few days later, Danielle received a life-changing phone call.
Haylee had diagnosed with Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML) — a rare type of blood cancer.
Speaking to 7Life, Haylee’s aunt and Danielle’s sister, Tracy, says her niece had no other symptoms other than scattered bruising — nothing unusual for a child.
But Haylee hasn’t been home since.
“Her bruises were only on her arms and legs,” Tracy explains.
“It looked like she kept hitting them (shins) on something, you know how when kids are really young, and they always have bruises on their shins.”
Haylee has now begun nine-months of intense treatment — leaving her family questioning how a few bumps and bruises landed their little girl in a hospital bed.
At first Danielle wasn’t too concerned over the few bruises popping up on her daughter’s legs.
But she began feeling uneasy when the bruising began appearing on unusual spots on her arms where it would be difficult to bruise.
“She (Haylee) had one on her forearm which looked oval shape, but when you felt it, there was a lump in the middle of it,” Tracy explains.
Bruising
Danielle booked an appointment at the GP who referred the young girl on for a blood test.
A few days later on November 24, 2023, the family were gathered to celebrate a few birthdays when Danielle received the call.
Danielle, her partner Drew, Tracy and their other sister Ann-Marie all raced Haylee to Townsville Hospital where doctors diagnosed her with blood cancer.
“Haylee hasn’t been home since,” Tracy heartbreakingly reveals.
Requiring specialised treatment, Haylee was flown to Brisbane Children’s Hospital the next day where a treatment plan — likely to last nine-months — was relayed.
Ronald McDonald House is now home to Danielle, Drew and Haylee’s two big brothers but Danielle, who is in her second trimester of pregnancy, she can’t bear to leave the side of her daughter.
“(They) spend most of the time with Haylee,” Tracy says.
“Haylee was really upset and scared and just wanted to go home when she got the diagnosis.”.
In honour of her cousin, Deanne has started a fundraiser to help Haylee in during her treatment.
“Deanne and her two sisters loved playing with Haylee and her two brothers,” Tracy says of the tight family unit.
For Haylee, a string of testing is likely in the new year to help more targeted treatment, but the prognosis is looking positive.
